Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai, a three-time winner on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) this year, is hoping to end a successful year by sealing the Tour’s Order of Merit (OOM) crown at the US$200,000 Taifong Open, which starts tomorrow at Taifong Golf Club.

The 29-year-old Thai sits at the top of the OOM with a current haul of US$67,948, thanks to three victories and five top-10s, including a tied-fourth place finish at the Aramco Invitational in Saudi Arabia last week.

A host of players could potentially catch him at what is the joint most lucrative event on Tour but Suteepat is determined to ride on his recent good run of form to capture the prestigious Merit crown.

“This is my first time playing the Taifong Open,” said Suteepat.

“I am excited. It has been a great season for me. I have never thought that I would win three times. It will be superb if I can end the year with a good result this week and win the Order of Merit title.

“But I won’t think too much about it. I have strong competitors here. Playing on the ADT this year has been a great experience for me. I have learned a lot and I hope to bring them on to the Asian Tour next year.”

Suteepat is attempting to become the third Thai player to lift the ADT Order of Merit crown following Pavit Tangkamolprasert (2014) and Pannakorn Uthaipas (2017), a former winner of the Taifong Open – which is celebrating its seventh edition on the ADT this season.

Chonlatit Chuenboonngam trails compatriot Suteepat by about US$6,619 in second place on the Merit list while Indonesia’s Naraajie E. Ramadhanputra, a two-time winner on the ADT this season, sits in third place with a current haul of US$55,619.

GURGAON-INDIA-Lloyd Jefferson Go of the Philippines pictured on Friday November 15, 2019 during the weather affected round one of the USD$ 400.000 Panasonic India Open at the Classic Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon, India. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Lloyd Jefferson Go of the Philippines, placed sixth on the Merit list, is also playing this week and is looking to finish a strong season with his first ADT win. The 27 year old has notched seven top-10s in nine starts without missing a single cut.

He said: “The game is feeling good. This is my sixth event in-a-row already. I’m excited, we’ll see how it goes. I started playing on the ADT at the OB Golf Invitational in Indonesia in June and I just kept it going from there. Finished 39th last week which wasn’t ideal so I hope to rebound with a good result this week.”

Other notable players in the field include former Asian amateur star and PGA TOUR player Kevin Yu, defending champion Lee Chieh-po, who successfully secured his Asian Tour card for 2023 after finishing in the top-70 on the Order of Merit, as well as local star Chan Shih-chang, a proven winner on the Asian Tour and a three-time winner of the Taifong Open in 2010, 2014 and 2018.

The top-10 finishers on the final OOM after completion of play on Sunday will secure their Asian Tour cards for 2023 season.

Ends.